3.1 Java1489-plotting 3d surfaces using java

Revised: Fri Oct 16 23:14:43 CDT 2015

This page is included in the following books:

• Digital Signal Processing - DSP

Table of contents

• Preface
  • Viewing tip
    • Figures
    • Listings
• General Discussion
  • Displaying 3D data can be fairly difficult
  • Different approaches are available
  • A 3D plotting program
    • Grayscale plot
    • Color Shift plot
    • Color Contour plot
    • A logarithmic conversion
    • Extremely easy to use
• Preview
  • Constructor
    • Parameters
    • A calibration scale
    • Normalization
  • The main method
    • A 3D parabola
• The program named ImgMod29
  • The main method
    • Local variables
    • A 3D parabolic surface
    • Display six surface images
  • The ImgMod29 class
    • Establish display format for log conversion
    • Copy the input elevation data
    • Convert to log data if required
    • Normalize the surface elevation data
    • The method named scaleTheSurfaceData
    • Create an appropriate pair of Canvas objects
    • Add the Canvas objects to the Frame
    • Register an anonymous WindowListener object
    • Six different inner classes
    • The getCenter method
  • Grayscale plot format
    • The constructor
    • Overridden paint method for CanvasType0surface class
    • Instantiate a Color object
    • Set colors and draw squares
    • Draw the optional red axes
    • Beginning of the class named CanvasType0scale
    • The overridden paint method
  • Color Shift plot format
    • Beginning of the class named CanvasType1surface
    • Overridden paint method
    • Set white and black for max and min values
    • Elevations other than the extreme ends
    • Processing the other three ranges
    • The class named CanvasType1scale
  • Color Contour plot format
    • The color palette
    • The CanvasType2surface class
    • Set the color value
    • The class named CanvasType2scale
• Run the program
• Summary
• Complete program listing
• Miscellaneous

Preface

In one of my earlier modules titled Plotting Engineering and Scientific Data using Java , I published a generalized 2D plotting program that makes it easy to cause other programs to display theiroutputs in 2D Cartesian coordinates . I have used that plotting program in numerous modules since I originally published it several years ago. Hopefully, some of my readershave been using it as well.

In this module, I will present and explain a 3D surface plotting program that is also very easy to use.

Numerous Java graphics libraries are available from various locations on the web. Some are of high quality, and some are not. Unfortunately, many of thoselibraries have a rather substantial learning curve.

The purpose of this program

It is not the purpose of the class that I will provide in this module to compete with those graphics libraries. Rather, this class is intended to make itpossible for an experienced Java programmer to incorporate 3D surface plotting capability into a Java program with a learning curve of three minutes or less.

(If you are an experienced Java programmer, you can start your three-minute learning-curve clock right now. If you are not an experiencedJava programmer, it may take a little longer but should still be easy. If you need to work on your Java programming skills, see Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) with Java .)